Pearl Divers And Lunch

The information on pearl divers was especially interesting as that’s how money was made in the early days. One exhibit showed the diver and his accoutrements - nose clip, ear plugs, etc. all made out of metal.

There was also an excellent exhibit with videos about the construction of a dhow using hand tools including a bow drill.

Afterwards, I went to the Arabian Tea Room nearby for a late lunch. I had mutabal which I thought was eggplant AND hummus. It was actually eggplant hummus dotted with pomegranate seeds, drizzled with olive oil and served with fresh naan. Absolutely delicious! The ceiling of the restaurant was covered reed with vines as you can see in the photo.

Ceiling of restaurant

Pearl diving accoutrements including metal nose clips and ear plugs.

Inside of restaurant

Mutabal

Dubai Museum

Today I took a taxi to the closest metro station to the apartment. I’m realizing that I’m using up a lot of time and energy trying to walk to the metro stations. The maps are tricky to figure out, and distances are often way further than they appear.

I took the metro to BurJuman which appeared close to the Dubai Museum. The museum was a great introduction to Dubai and Arabian life. The Al Fahidi Fort is on the same grounds and showed examples of the wind towers  used  to cool the buildings before air conditioning.

Inside the museum there were many life-like mannequins depicting various traditional shops. In fact at one, I saw a woman holding some cloth and wondered why she hadn’t read the signs that emphatically forbid touching the exhibits. As I eased closer, I realized she was a mannequin!

Lots of great information about architecture, falconry, Islam and wind towers to name a few.

Spice shop

Socializing

A dhow outside of the museum

Dubai metro station

Dishwashers and Clothes Washers

Betty, this is for you! I’m not sure I posted about washers in Norway, but the one in our AirBnB in Bergen was quite difficult to operate, and had the two of us scratching our heads.

It’s the same here in the UAE.

First the dishwasher: I discovered a lot of the outlets have switches to control the electricity. Kashem showed me the one for the stove, so after I couldn’t turn on the dishwasher, I looked for a similar switch, and there it was near an opposite counter. So quick success with that.

The washer was a bit more of a challenge. So, I used my noggin, found the model number and was able to download the owner’s manual. (Thank goodness I had brought my laptop. This would have been much more challenging with an iPad.) It was easier than it appeared once all the cycles and icons were explained. 

So, it’s only 9 AM and the dishes and clothes are washed, leaving most of the day for fun. First up is breakfast, and then I’m off to explore this amazing city. 

 Laundry pile

Dryer on the balcony

Food, Water and the Beach

I’m quickly finding out that there’s a lot to do to getting acclimated to a new land. Once the basics are sorted out, I’ll have more time for exploring. I spent a lot of the morning buying/ordering groceries. Paula suggested I look into food delivery for the heavy items such as water. Tap water is only used for cleaning and washing dishes, and since I drink a lot of water, I need to get large bottles which are quite heavy. Fortunately, I was able to set up an account using Paula’s mobile number with Carrefour’s to order online and have it delivered. My order - mostly water and almond milk - is supposed to arrive today between 4-6 PM. Stay tuned...

It’s quite busy and a little disorienting in terms of getting around. So I had a goal of finding the beach and the Jumeirah Beach Walk - a promenade of about 1.7 km. Lots of stores and restaurants as well as kiosks. After a few false starts, I found it fairly easily once I studied the map again. The sand is like the Jersey shore - a little more coarse but very similar. The Persian Gulf is beautiful, and there were some lovely shells and odd pieces of white coral along the shore. As I love the ocean, I am a big fan of beaches, so I was excited to stick my feet in a new body of water! The waves were quite gentle softly washing up on the shore, but signs did warn of rip tides. It reminded me of Point Reyes in CA where the water can look quite harmless but is actually extremely dangerous. Lots of people were swimming - adults and children - so it’s probably mostly fine.

Later, I also took a leisurely swim in the pool at the apartment which was lovely. The lifeguard/pool attendant kept telling me that it was cold. It was a little nippy, but just glorious! And once I started swimming, I was very comfortable.

The next goal in the late afternoon was to find the tram and take a ride on that since I could use it to meet up with Paula on Thursday. This was extremely tricky as I spied the tram line, but no station to buy a ticket or board. Finally, I came upon what looked like a tram stop and followed people inside. That ended up not being the place to board, so I followed some other people to another building which was the spot. Perhaps, I have a future in tailing people...

Ticket machines are tricky in a foreign country, so it took me quite a few tries before I sort of figured out how to get a NOL card or ticket - needing to choose the kind of ticket, how many zones I’d be going through, etc. Further complicating it was a receipt that I later realized was for topping off a NOL card that I thought was the ticket but it wasn’t. I guess I can write this off as spontaneous jet lag that had my brain fogged. After validating the ticket with yet another machine, I was  finally ready just as the tram pulled into the station. After riding for a bit, I got off and then went back in the direction I had come from as it was getting dark and I wanted to be back in familiar territory.

The evening was topped off with an Arabian dinner of lamb madghout recommended by Michael the waiter at Karamna, a restaurant by the beach. Apparently it’s a rice and meat dish that’s cooked in a pressure cooker. It was very tasty but there was enough for about 5 meals, so I’ll be enjoying it for quite a few days.

 The Dubai Marina on my way to finding the tram.

 The Dubai Marina Mall - I stopped in to see it briefly.

My super-sized portion of madghout.

Sunday morning in Dubai

After a very restful sleep, I woke up at my usual time feeling human again. My plans for today are to get more food, get oriented, swim, find the beach, talk to Paula, and explore. As many of you know, I’ve been swimming daily in Dublin, so I’m eager to jump in that pool that the apartment overlooks.

Paula and I had a long talk this morning - there is a land line here and I was able to call her on that. We will meet up on Thursday when she comes into Dubai for an appointment. Then we’ll go to Sharjah where she is singing in a concert before returning to Dubai that night. We have two extended weekends together since she’s teaching the rest of the time, so we want to make the most of our time. We discussed going to Abu Dhabi this weekend, a place we’d both like to visit. I think it’s about 90 minutes away.

I promise not to post meals/balcony views every day, but here’s one more to compare to last night’s food/view:

 Same view of last night’s with that inviting pool calling to me...

Coffee, eggs, bread and butter. 

First Day in Dubai

I arrived around 7:00 PM last night. The airport was immense and very opulent. I had arranged with Marhaba through Emirates (recommended by my friend, Paula) for a greeter to meet me.  After a 13 hour flight with no sleep, I was very glad to see him holding up my name when I arrived near baggage claim. We sped through customs, and then he handled the baggage while I went to the ATM.

We then went outside to get a pink-roofed taxi which is also known as a ladies taxi. The ride to Jumeriah Beach Residence where I had booked an AirBnB was about 40 minutes. There was quite a bit of traffic, but the city was  pretty with the lights and so many unusual stores lit up. It was interesting to see a lot of US businesses like Subway written in English/Arabic. 

At the apartment, Kashem was waiting outside, and he proceeded to explain all the ins and outs of the apt. It was candlelit with roses and rose petals strewn about for a special welcome. (I had also seen rose petals used as a welcome in Africa.) Very pretty! There is a spirit of hospitality that is very evident in all the people I’ve meet so far. 

Next. I went to Carrefour, the local grocery story which was a quick 5 minute walkaway. I knew I wanted coffee, fruit, cereal, etc. for the next morning, not to mention something more for dinner. Unfortunately, I got a little disoriented on the way back to Rimal 4 which is the address of my JBR tower. I quickly retraced my steps and found it easily. 

Dinner on the balcony overlooking the pool and the city of Dubai was beautiful.

Airport

View from balcony

My dinner - baked beans, banana, yogurt and plums - courtesy of Carrefour. Yum!

Airport

Roses and petals on the bed.

Airport

City of Dubai

City of Dubai

Airport

Dubai in four days

My friend, Paula, is teaching in Sharjah in the UAE, and she invited me to visit. We go back years and years, having first met in the Berkshires of western MA at a ballet camp named Beaupre in the mid '70's. About fifteen years ago, I "found" her in Iowa. We last met up in MN where we had fun exploring Minneapolis. 

See you in Dubai...


PS -  My AirBnB is located in the Jumeriah Beach Residence complex which (I think) is at the top middle of this picture.


Emirates Tower, Jumeriah Beach